Selling your body isn’t pretty, no matter how much money you make

Selling your body isn’t pretty, no matter how much money you make

Re: The Face Of The Sex Trade, March 31.
Adrian Humphrey’s interview with Nikki Thomas, executive director of Sex Professionals of Canada, gave a very rosy, one-sided view of prostitution. The 16-year-old working for a pimp, the trafficked young woman and the frightened single mother are not going to speak to the press. Their services will be more in demand as a result of the Ontario Court of Appeal ruling allowing brothels, but they will not benefit from the new protections afforded them. I doubt, however, that they are as thrilled as Ms. Thomas is about the court ruling. Do the desires of a few, vocal, sex workers outweigh the needs of the many silent, abused, ones? Lauren Klammer, Kingston, Ont.

Attaching a monetary value to one’s own body is deeply degrading and immoral. Isn’t that why we abolished slavery? Sorry, pretty woman, selling your body just isn’t pretty, no matter how much money you make. Ruth Ferguson, Toronto.

People should reject the characterization of persons who engage in prostitution as “sex workers,” as this can give the false impression that it is somehow a legitimate form of work. Prostitution cannot be separated from the issue of the status and dignity of persons; governments and society must not accept such a dehumanization and objectification of persons.
Let us hope the Harper government will appeal the latest Ontario court ruling. Paul Kokoski, Hamilton, Ont.

It’s a tragedy that any woman would sell her body and soul. It is an equal tragedy that we are producing so many young men that are willing to pay for that privilege. Our prostitution laws should be written so as to encourage as many of them as possible to find new lives.
I now have to live in a society that values family and women even less, thanks to judicial malfeasance. I’m absolutely depressed that I have to tell my future children that it was my generation that allowed this to happen. Jim Davis, Burlington, Ont.

The problem isn’t with Nikki Thomas. She is only doing what licentious people do. The problem is with a society that insists on relativism. For Ms. Thomas, prostitution is relatively OK, so it should be not only allowed, but protected by law. It is the obligation of a society that can still tell the difference between right and wrong to both teach and enforce that difference. Prostitution hurts. Those who are so morally blind that they cannot understand the moral implications of such destructive behaviour should at least understand that not everyone gets into it willingly. And those who cannot tell right from wrong should not be permitted to make up the laws for the rest of us. Marcus Verbrugge, Burlington, Ont.

Nikki Thomas certainly provides a refreshing and wholesome aspect to “the industry” of prostitution. It is unfortunate that our vocabulary seems ill-equipped to cope with her approach. For example, in naming the specialty Ms. Thomas herself refers to as “the industry,” I think that “sport” might be the best fit because it bears a closer relationship to that activity than to any other endeavour. There is some physical activity, sometimes strenuous, and as she notes, there are age barriers to its adherents. However I do think that “the sport” has privacy aspects that would prohibit its ever attaining Olympic status. However, in the fullness of time, who knows what is possible? Patrick MacKinnon, Victoria.

Do you believe in a God?

With Easter, Passover and Visakhi (the Sikh new year) almost upon us, let us know in 75 words or less if you believe in a higher power. Deadline is Thursday at 2 p.m. EST, with responses to be published on Tuesday, April 10. Include your name and address, and email letters@nationalpost.com

Western ‘rednecks’ vs. Quebec

Re: Trudeau’s Master Stroke, Conrad Black, March 31.
As always, Canada is steeped in the glorious political wrangling between Upper and Lower Canada. Conrad Black speaks with paternal arrogance that Quebec is a prize worth bankrupting the rest of Canada (ROC) for.
He acts as though we’ve finally won the war against the separatists and all that the ROC will have to do is to continue showering them with money. Lets call it Operation Status Quo. And Pierre Trudeau is to be canonized for spending Western Canadian dollars to pay for bilingualism. That will never resonate well with Western Canadians, nor will referring to us as “rednecks.” For us, its the National Energy Program and Mr. Trudeau’s hand gesture from a train to the citizens of Salmon Arm, B.C., that will remain his true legacy.
May I suggest that Mr. Black broadens his horizon of Canadian history to include the people, geography, demographics and economic drivers of Western Canada? We are not willing vassals of Central Canadian elitism. Tim Dryden, Edmonton.

Every Saturday I read Mr. Black’s column in much the same way as I take Buckley’s when I have a cold. It’s going to taste like heck, but I’m sure it’ll be good for me. In Mr. Black’s case, I know at the very least I am going to learn new words.
The reason for this letter, however, is because of a very common word that he used very condescendingly: “redneck.” I don’t know about the East but here in the West, a big part of the population is made up of what I consider “rednecks.” People that work hard to make their living, but who aren’t heard of much in the media. In some ways, especially here in the West, “Canadian” and “redneck” are the same thing in many ways.
We are a frontier country, a resource-driven economy, with thousands of miles of wilderness looming over us. So call me a “redneck,” but just don’t condescend to me. Shane Tomkins, Edmonton.

Little room for Red-Meat Tories

Re: When Will The Red-Meat Tories Rebel?, April 2.
Red-meat conservatism simply can’t win in Canada. There is a reason the Liberals were called Canada’s natural governing party: they occupied the part of the political spectrum where the majority lies, in the middle, moderate and practical. Then they were force by economics to move right, but still moderate, then they made poor leadership choices and tried to move left. Boom, they are out.
A minority in the House forced Stephen Harper to be a moderate; that moderation is why he won a majority and he is comfortable with it.
Red-meat conservatism will never happen. And if there is a new party to the right, that would be simply manna from Heaven for the Grits.
Paul N. Hornsby, Toronto.
Florida shooting was about race
Re: Turning A Tragedy Into A Race Parable, Rex Murphy, March 31.
I have nothing but the highest esteem for Rex Murphy — that is perhaps why I am so disappointed in his take on the Trayvon Martin debacle down in Florida. I expected to read from Mr. Murphy that the shooting of an unarmed 17-year-old was a tragedy of both action and legislation; the legislation being an asinine law that allows armed people to “stand their ground” against unarmed possibly ill-intentioned people.
I also believe his criticism of President Barack Obama to be wrong headed. This is a very human tragedy and the President speaking out days after the incident in the way that he did spoke to his humanity. I am not black but I am the father of a 17-year-old boy, so I can somewhat relate to the family. I wonder how I would cope if some wanna-be-hero shot my son in such circumstances.
Mr. Murphy is correct that the usual suspects like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are out to condemn this incident as another attack on black America, but anyone who believes that America hasn’t had a problem with racism from its inception to present day is in need of an education. Aaron Martyn, Stayner, Ont.

The debate about profiling criminal behaviour and the wearing of hoodies has missed a simple observation. While not all people who wear hoodies are criminals, most people that are about to commit crime put on hoodies. Why? Because it is the best countermeasure next to a balaclava to being identified on surveillance cameras. In fact, when our central station operators are guarding a car lot with active surveillance we use this profile to determine suspicious behaviour and tell the “visitor” to leave the premises. Robert Baxter, president, Radius Security, Richmond, B.C.

The winter that is

Re: The Winter That Wasn’t, March 31.
It’s been snowing since early morning here in Grand Forks, B.C., and the lawns are white. Maybe winter isn’t quite as dead as claimed. Frank Hilliard, Grand Forks, B.C.

Let babies chew their own food

Re: Pre-Chewing Baby’s Food Just Fine, Experts Say, March 31.
Advocating the practice of pre-chewing food for babies is dangerous advice. Food premastication, or even sharing eating utensils with babies can lead to dental caries (tooth decay), which remains the most common chronic disease among North American children. Contrary to the common assumption that tooth decay is caused by eating sugary foods alone, dental caries is an infectious communicable disease caused by acid forming bacteria, in the presence of sugar.
Studies have shown that the most common source of transmission of decay-causing bacteria is from the infected saliva of a child’s caregiver, most often the mother. Premastication may be relatively safe in the pre-industrialized world where diets are largely void of refined sugars and other manufactured carbohydrates. But in Western societies, where consuming refined sugars is virtually unavoidable, preventing the transmission of infected saliva to babies can go a long way to decreasing their lifetime risk of dental disease. Dr. Ryan Rakowski, Toronto.

Much more than a ‘pert brunette’

Re: Unveiling A Female Candidate In Egypt, March 31.
I find it odd, or should I say ironic, that reporter Peter Goodspeed in his article on Bothaina Kamel — the first female presidential candidate in Egyptian history, a mature, experienced woman passionately dedicated to changing attitudes toward her sex — should choose to describe her as a “pert, 49-year-old brunette.” Patricia Leeper, Calabogie, Ont.

Sizing up Justin Trudeau

Re: No One Said There Would Be Blood, April 2.
Justin Trudeau has all the vanity, but none of the intellectual prowess of his father. But both seem to have a common disdain of mere Canadians and our ability to know what is good for us. Pierre Trudeau spat at us verbally and gave us a perverted “multicultural” mish-mash of a country to be governed solely by a sense of one’s individual rights — with no thought to one’s civic collective responsibilities.
Now, decades later, we are still trying to come up with the solution to the resulting social engineering dilemma. Enter stage left the alleged prodigy, who instead of proffering insight to anything of substance or further doctrinal clarification, has instead given us carnival antics, both in the House of Commons and outside it, as his own exclamation point to his Father’s wayward and pompous legacy. Mark Evans, Toronto.

Despite their membership in opposing parties, Justin Trudeau and Patrick Brazeau couldn’t be more alike. Mr. Trudeau is barely out of his 30s while Mr. Brazeau is still there. Neither have ever held a job for more than a few years that didn’t involve siphoning a six-figure salary out of the public purse, and both will continue to do that for the rest of their lives. Canada’s culture of entitlement has truly reached its apex with these characters. Nick Redding, Victoria.

One benefit of budget cuts

Re: CBC Always Has Dragons’ Den For Cash, March 30.
Now that CBC’s budget has been cut by 10%, does this mean we will only have to listen to Rick Mercer whine about the Conservatives winning the last election for 27 minutes a week instead of 30 minutes a week? Doug Gallagher, Toronto.

Will atheists also have their day?

Re: After Saturday Comes Sunday, Letter, March 31.
I have also heard the expression describing Christian/Jewish persecution in Muslim countries as: “First the Saturday people, then the Sunday people.” Letter-writer Steve Samuel talks about the unfortunate fate of Christians, and mentions that 800,000 Jews were driven out of their home. after having lived there for a thousand years before Islam. I dread to think what would have happened to these Jews had there not been an Israel to receive them. And I wonder how safe the atheists and agnostics are in these places? Rabbi David Spiro, Toronto.